"Is this like the underway?" Cyrdic asked. Skaldi looked at him as if he were the biggest fool the Dwarf had ever seen. "Are ye daft, lad? The Ungdrin Ankor is not a..." he sighed. "If ye were ever in it, you would know."

They headed up the incline, against the small current as it were. Cyrdic's strong hand held Camilla's comfortingly, his offhand holding his runic sword. Despite the normalcy of the rock, there could easily be Trolls or Goblins in the depths, along with ratmen or any other foul creatures unknown to man. He recalled vividly his and Camilla's first danger together in the middle mountains. He wondered to himself what had possessed him to fly into the middle of the Skaven nest to save the acrobatic Camilla from being sacrificed. Maybe he had a thing for her even then. 

Skaldi halted up front, sniffing the air much like Cyrdic often did. Though the Ostlander tried to hide the act. He wasn't about to be burned at the stake for being influenced by Ulric from the sword he carried. The Dwarf grinned through his thick beard, and turned around. "Move quietly. There's an opening ahead." He whispered, and then advanced as silent as if he was walking on soft grass. It only took a few minutes before the lantern was no longer needed, and light poured in from above. Unfortunately, the opening was as far above them as the wide tunnel they had just traversed through.

"I say we climb it." The rugged leader said, placing a hand over his eyes to shield from the light as he gazed toward the sky. 

"Climb it!?" Dietrichia scoffed, looking very unimperious at the moment, as if the very thought was damnable. The Greatsword Konrad shook his head, nearly as superstitious and annoyed by the sorceress as the Kislevites. He was a Nordlander, after all. The only magic they saw was often the corrupted sorcery of Chaos. 

"I'll help you up, my lady." Yantz reminded her. He opened his arms a bit as if to present himself. She still looked skeptical, but the rest of the party ignored her after her small outburst. 

"Ah, Ceedrick," Ivan said, walking forward and wrapping his big arm around the mercenary's neck, jovial and boisterous as ever. Cyrdic laughed but kept a strong hand on Ivan's arm incase the Kislevite got too excited and squeezed a bit too much. "Af' you been to a propur Kislevite tavern? I vil show you and little dove the viskey that iz so famous of my land. We vil drink together, da?" 

Cyrdic wriggled his mouth out of the massive forearm, grinning despite the friendly struggle. "Yeah Ivan," he coughed. "First we got to make it there, though." 

"I'm going first," Skaldi said, and without any delay he grabbed the first rock, hauling his considerable bulk and climbing up as if he were walking. The entire party watched, dumbfounded as Skaldi ascended up as if he were an ape from the Southland jungles. Despite his squat form, his fingers were strong and dextrous and he seemed to have a sixth sense on where the best places to grab were within the rockface. 

Cyrdic let go of Camilla's hand and sheathed his sword, looking back to her. "See you at the top," he breathed, and began climbing up. He knew Camilla would have no problem. She was far more acrobatic and flexible than he. Cyrdic only paused once or twice during the ascent, making sure to move slow and positioning his body so his pack would be what he landed on if he were to fall. Konrad and Boris climbed well enough, though Konrad had some difficulties. Cyrdic needed to help him once the mercenary was up. Dietrichia stayed at the bottom, and they had to toss a rope down to tie her to after they had all climbed up. 

On the surface, it was breathtakingly, horrifyingly beautiful. 

Snowcapped peaks filled their vision to west, though curiously, they tops of the peaks were only marginally higher than the companions were. They found themselves on an endless plateau, covered in coarse grass that swayed from the cold wind that billowed from the north, lone mountains standing vigil behind them, back from where they had come. Ivan cursed in his native tongue, and Skaldi's nostrils flared. It seemed they weren't out of trouble yet. 

"What?" Cyrdic asked as he helped pull Dietrichia up to the top one tug at a time. He knew there could still be any manner of monster this far north, but surely they were not cursing the obvious. 

"Chaos horsemen live here," Skaldi informed him. "Steppe riders. Distant kin of the Kislev manlings." Ivan grunted and Boris scowled, unwilling to confirm the suspicion, but unable to deny it. 

"How do you know this?" Konrad asked, and Yantz seemed to wish for the Dwarf to be discredited, even if it meant they were lost. Skaldi glanced Konrad's way. "Because the mountains over there I recognize. They border the Zorn Uzkul. We must make for the Highpass and hope we are unnoticed from both the eastern horseman and the western threat. Thank Grungni we only need sneak by the fortress of Uzkulak." 

"Zorn Uzkul?" Cyrdic asked. 

Skaldi seemed to hesitate, as if the very existence of what he was about to say vexed him to no end. "Land of the Chaos Dwarfs. My dark kin."
[@Penny]